Dance with Me
by Starian Princess
Summary: There’s a dance coming up and Tea is anxious for Yami to ask her to go with him, but it doesn’t seem like he will, ever… Oh, what’s a girl to do? But Ryou has something to say about this too.
1. Chapter 1

**Dance with Me  
****By: Starian Princess**

_There's a dance coming up and Tea is anxious for Yami to ask her to go with him, but it doesn't seem like he will, ever… Oh, what's a girl to do? But Ryou has something to say about this too._

* * *

Chapter 1

The students passed along in the busy corridor, going about the usual school day. But for some, this day proved to be more than simply normal…

Tea stared at the banner hanging on the wall, and paled in utter horror. 'A dance? Oh great…' She sighed. It wasn't like she hated dancing, since it _was_ practically her life. Oh no, there was a deeper, more serious reason.

"Good morning, Tea." And right as if on cue, she turned around as a soft voice called her from behind.

"Good morning Yugi!" She smiled and greeted back. But the smile soon faded as her inner musings had started to come out again.

'Yugi looks so much like… _him_…' She sighed, as she no longer stared at the shorter boy, but at his other darker self, Yami. Was it so bad to like him so much? She had known about Yugi having a crush on her when they were little but she could never return those feelings.

True, she once _thought_ that she might be developing some feelings for her best friend. But later, she realized that she had been attracted to him because of the other who lived within him. She had always known that he was different, that he was special with something hidden inside of him. And later it had been proven, quite literally in fact, as the spirit had emerged from the golden pyramid hanging around his neck.

He had swept her off her feet that time he had saved her from the perverted man in the storage room. She had wanted to forget that memory, but found that she couldn't. No, she didn't actually want to, ever. Because that had been the first time she had met the mysterious ancient pharaoh. That was the first time she had laid eyes on the one she had grown to love so deeply…

"Tea? Tea! What's wrong!" She was brought out of her daydream as a louder yet gentle voice was calling her.

Her dazed blue eyes blinked a few times as she tried to focus. She noticed a pair of worried amber eyes examining her, trying to see what was causing her sudden silence. She shook her head casually as she fully regained her senses.

She gasped. She was staring right into the eyes of the person who had captured her heart. Funny, how at first she couldn't tell it was he who she was looking at. He and Yugi just looked so alike it was scary. But she had no time to think these things as she struggled to greet the pharaoh.

"G-Good Morning, Yami!" She stuttered uncontrollably. Her cheeks turned pink as she placed her gaze on the floor, on her shoes, on the bag she was holding, anything to keep her from looking at him.

"Good morning. Are you not feeling well, Tea?"

"Oh, no! Of course not! I was just um… trying to remember something I had to do!" She waved her hands in front of her as she began to feel very nervous. She was beginning to melt under his piercing gaze and she couldn't stand anymore of it.

"I'll just meet you in the classroom then!" And with that she made a dash towards wherever her feet would take her, leaving two very confused boys staring at her retreating back.

"I wonder what is bothering her so much…" Yugi sighed, watching his usual cheery brunette friend run away from them. "She has been spacing out more than usual lately. What do you think is wrong, Yami?"

"I don't know hikari, but we have to count on her telling us when she can finally do so. It wouldn't be right to force her to answer us." Came the ever knowledgable reply of the pharaoh.

* * *

Tea sighed in defeat as she slumped against the wall. She placed a calming hand on her forehead and tried to catch her breath.

'I can't believe I acted like some ditzy schoolgirl with a crush!' She sighed as she looked down at her shoes.

"Well, I _am_ a ditzy schoolgirl with a crush…"

"Tea?" She turned around in surprise to look into the eyes of none other than Ryou Bakura.

"Ryou? Oh, hi!" She smiled kindly as she always did towards him.

Ryou bowed in return and smiled as well. Then he looked down, a small blush creeping up his cheeks though Tea did not notice.

"I… Have you heard about the dance?" He quickly replaced, trying to act as calm as ever.

Tea nodded, an image of Yami appeared inside her head as her thoughts began to drift yet again.

_She pictured him smiling that knowing mysterious smile of his as he asked her to go with him to the dance. She of course was saying "yes" and he taking her hand in his as they walked to class together… _Yes, that's what should have happened a while ago. But it didn't!

She frowned, her hands tightening their grip on the handle of her bag. Ryou seemed to notice this as he stopped what he was trying to say to her.

"Tea? What's wrong? Do you have a problem or something?"

Tea blinked, hearing Ryou's worried voice. She blushed as she remembered what she had been thinking about.

"Oh, Ryou… I'm sorry for spacing out… I just have a lot on my mind. Now, what were you saying?" She smiled apologetically.

Ryou's worried frown did not leave his face though. He stared at Tea, his white bangs now covering his eyes as he recalled what she had earlier said. She had not noticed him when he waved at her a while ago. And he saw that she was tired so he approached her quietly. Then he heard her…

"Well, I am a ditzy schoolgirl with a crush…" She must have been talking about him. It wasn't like he hated Yami or Yugi, for that matter since they were almost one and the same to him. They were indeed one of his closest friends but he just couldn't see why Tea would like someone like Yami at all. For one thing, he was a spirit from ancient Egypt and she could have a picked a more 'modern' guy… like **him** maybe!

'Yeah right… Like she would ever like me… I look like a girl and can't even stick up for myself against _my _yami.' He inwardly scowled.

"Ryou?" He looked up at the pretty brunette staring at him curiously. Then he placed on his usual "mask" and smiled at her.

"Tea, if you don't mind my asking but just what _is_ on your mind? It might help to share what's troubling you with another so that your burden is lessened." Though he said this, he didn't think he really wanted to hear what he knew she would say. But she was his friend, and a very important one at that.

She seemed to ponder the thought for a moment.

"Well…" She began, a bit hesitant. 'Ryou is a very close and not to mention trustworthy friend so…'

"It's just that I've liked Yami for a while now…" Ryou inwardly cringed at the mention of Yami, but kept his cool for Tea's sake. 'Here it comes…'

"And since I heard about the dance, I thought that maybe he'd ask me to it. And he hasn't… I don't think he will Ryou!"

He was surprised that she had so easilly let her guard down in front of him as she was now crying on his chest. Even though he knew he shouldn't since he'd regret later he slowly wrapped his arms around her, and then started whispering soothing words in her ear.

For some reason, Tea felt that she could just let herself go when she was with Ryou. Maybe because he was really the type of friend who'd listened willingly and made her feel that she could tell him anything. She sighed as her frustrated tears began to stop pouring.

And then, they were just in each other's embrace.

"Sorry about that." Tea muttered, pulling away. She smiled sadly, a few hair strands stuck to her cheek.

A hand reached out and brushed her cheek, tucking the hair behind her ear.

"Do you feel any better?" To this, she nodded meekly as she felt too embarrassed to look up.

The same hand reached down to cup her chin and pull her face up to look at him.

"That's good then." He smiled as he lost himself in her deep cerulean eyes.

But just then the bell rang and the moment was over.

"Thanks, Ryou. I'll see you in class then." Tea waved as she ran to her assigned classroom for the first period.

"Yeah, I'll see you in class." Was the muttered reply, before he sauntered down the hallway in search of a certain pharaoh.

* * *

Yugi had long left saying that he needed to look for Joey, so Yami was left to wander around the campus alone. He had heard the bell ring so he intended to get to class as quickly as possible. But apparantly fate had a different path for him that day.

Upon reaching the end of the hallway leading to the classroom, he was firmly yanked by the collar into an empty room.

He got into a fighting stance ready to battle whoever was responsible for it, but to his surprise there was only one person in the room besides him. And that was Ryou Bakura.

Upon closer inspection, Yami noticed that his hair was a lot rougher looking on its ends. And his eyes looked a lot more slanted into a nasty glare.

He gasped softly and then hissed, "Bakura…"

"Why, hello there pharaoh Yami!" Bakura smirked coyly.

"What do _you_ want?"

"Oh, nothing really… Just that my aibou tells me that you haven't asked that mortal to some party yet…" He yawned.

"Mortal?"

"That girl who always follows you and your aibou around, Tea was it? So, _are_ you planning on asking her to the dance?"

Yami didn't know what to think. First, Bakura was talking to him quite civilly and now he was talking about asking Tea to the dance?

"What are you getting at, tomb robber? How will you get anything out of it if I ask her to the dance?"

"Absolutely nothing really…"

"Then why are you so concerned about me asking her?"

"My aibou is the one concerned, you fool." Yami glared daggers when he was called a fool. But just then, something had struck him.

"Why is Ryou concerned about me asking Tea to the dance?"

"Now, _that_ is none of your business pharaoh. I suggest you go to class now and ask her already before someone else does."

"That was exactly where I was headed before you so rudely pulled me in here." And with that, Yami had dashed out the door to get to class.

"Is that what you wanted aibou?" Bakura questioned as Ryou stepped out from the darkest corner of the room, a sad smile grazed his serene face.

"Yes. Thank you for doing this for me."

"Don't think that I did this for you, weakling. I did this for Tea."

"So we do have the same feelings then, as I had guessed."

"Maybe. But I really am just simply _interested_ in that mortal…"

**-TBC-**

* * *

**A/N:** For those who don't know, "aibou" means partner. And "hikari" means light, just as "yami" means dark. In the case of both Yugi and Ryou, they are the hikari or the lighter halves; while Yami and Bakura (as I refer to him here) are the yami or darker halves.

And in this fic, the yami have gotten their own bodies. Yami is going to school with everyone because he wants to learn more about this new world, while Bakura isn't because well.. he's Bakura.

_Starian Princess_


	2. Chapter 2

**Dance with Me  
****By: Starian Princess**

Chapter 2

Quickly jutting down notes as the teacher explained the lesson, Tea couldn't help but let her mind wander. She frowned as she remembered that she had simply run away from the spirit and did not even try to bring up the topic about the dance.

'It's only proper that _he _asks _me_, but at the rate things are going some other girl might make the first move. And I'd be damned before I let some other girl be his partner at the dance.' She let her eyes skim through the room and noticed that several other eyes had been trained on the boy at the farthest left of the classroom.

'My gosh, they're like vultures leering down on their prey!' She inwardly laughed, but her musings stopped as a disturbing thought occurred in her mind.

'I don't really think that he'd say "yes" to any of them but what if he gets cornered and-'

"Miss Gardner?" Returning from her inner ramblings, she looked up questioningly as the teacher walked over to her desk.

"Umm… Yes ma'am?" She stood up just as the teacher reached her desk, silently wondering if she'd been caught daydreaming.

"Could you kindly read the dialogue on page 62? Please remember to speak clearly."

"Yes ma'am." She answered, silently thanking the heavens that that was all she was required to do.

"And… Would Mister Bakura accompany her? Mister Bakura, you are John and Miss Gardner, you are Patricia."

She smiled. Ryou was excellent with English and she always loved hearing him participate in class. She glanced down at the page and her eyes widened in alarm.

'Does it have to be _this_ topic?'

"Miss Gardner? Please start."

"A-Alright. _John, what was it that you needed to discuss with me?"_

_"Ah, Patricia. Well, have you heard about the ball tonight?" _She gulped before continuing.

_"Yes, I have. But what about it?"_

_"I was wondering if I could invite you to go… with me." _

_"I would love to."_

* * *

Ryou stared up at the banner hanging on the wall for the umpteenth time that day. He silently wondered if he'd made the right choice by having his yami confront the pharaoh.

'Wouldn't it break Tea's heart if she knew that Yami had been forced to ask her?'

"I see your decision is faltering, little hikari." He didn't need to turn as a gruff voice approached him.

"I would be lying if I said otherwise. But what do you think? Was it right for us to step in?" His hazel eyes met his yami's hardened ones.

"Do you think that useless pharaoh would have asked her had we not interfered?" The question thrown back at him mildly surprised him. As far as he knew, it was only Yugi who had a thing for her and although he and Bakura had a link when it came to the brunette, that didn't necessarily mean that Yami and Yugi had one too. Was he even sure that Yugi still liked Tea? And more importantly, was he even sure that Yami liked Tea that way?

"Little by little, I'm beginning to think that we may have made the biggest mistake ever." Was the reply Bakura caught before his hikari took off into a dash, no doubt in search of the girl who had caught his heart and who had very much interested the former tomb robber.

* * *

It wasn't long until Ryou had found her. After all, she seemed to stand out quite a bit. Those brunette tresses, those cerulean pools, and that radiant smile. No one was more beautiful than she was to him.

"Tea!" He called, waving at the girl.

For a moment he forgot about the reason why he had been searching for her as he watched her wave back and walk briskly towards him, but the moment he felt her slender arms encircle his waist the whole mission came crashing down on him as he listened to her ecstatic tone.

"Ryou, I can't begin to tell you how happy I am! Yami asked me to the dance! He asked right after English class!" She was more than happy. It was as if Yami had asked her to marry him even.

Pulling away from her, Ryou took in her overjoyed gaze. She'd never looked so contented and he sighed.

"Ryou? What's wrong?" Shaking his head, he pulled her back in as _he_ embraced _her_ this time.

"I'm so glad you got what you wished for Tea."

* * *

Tea watched as her ivory-haired friend made his way through the crowd. Ever since she had told him that Yami had asked her to the dance, he seemed a bit distant. Not only had he been avoiding eye contact, but the way he seemed to even ignore Yami was puzzling her to no end. Wasn't he happy for her? The sudden thought of losing one of her best friends came to mind and before she knew it, her feet had started moving on their own.

She knew that it would be trouble if a teacher caught her running in the hall but she just had to find him.

Catching a glimpse of a recognizable head of white, she changed the direction she was running in and prayed that he would hear her.

"Ryou!"

Bakura's head shot up as he heard a familiar voice call out his hikari's name. He stopped mid-stride as he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

"Tea…" He pried her arms off as he turned to face her. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked like she was about to cry.

"What-" As he was about to ask what was wrong, he found the dancer clutching him tightly; pulling at his shirt and crying on his chest.

"Ryou, please tell me what's wrong..." She sounded so lost. Had his hikari done something to her? No, of course not. Even **he** knew that Ryou would never do anything to hurt the girl. But hadn't she asked him to tell her what was wrong? That meant that he must've done something unintentional then.

Preparing to make up for whatever his lighter half may have done (although he wondered why he'd even bother), he ran his hands soothingly through her hair and rubbed her back. He wasn't very good with women, that was for sure but if it was Tea then he didn't mind at least trying. And anyways, it seemed that she didn't even know it was him.

"Calm down, Tea." He whispered in her ear, trying very much to sound like Ryou.

Tea looked up, the last few tears sliding down the side of her face.

"Ryou, did I do anything to make you mad?" Her voice trembled. He'd always heard that she would do anything for her friends, and it pained her when something was wrong and she was the cause. But only now did he truly witness and understand it.

"No, of course not. You could never make me mad." Answering her, he watched as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"But then why were you acting so distant? Was it because Yami asked me to the dance? Does it have anything to do with that? Or are you worried about not having anyone to take to the dance? Maybe I can set you up." And then she was going on and on about who was probably the perfect person for him to take. But he wasn't listening anymore.

How could she even begin to think that he or his hikari would want to take anyone else? The thought sickened him. There was only one person they were both interested in. And that particular girl was ranting about him and not even paying heed to herself. She was so selfless that Bakura could do nothing but be captivated by the way her lips moved and how her eyes were a vibrant azure as she spoke of pairing him up with some other random girl. No, he absolutely did not like the idea at all.

Tea was silenced as she found herself in a lip lock with the boy she had been seeking out to help. Her mind went blank as her eyes closed. She couldn't help it. In that kiss, she could feel the one emotion that Yami never seemed to show her. Raw desire. It should have troubled her knowing that her friend actually _wanted_ her, and yet it didn't. For also in that kiss, she could feel the one thing she'd been seeking out from the pharaoh that did show but it wasn't quite what she expected. Complete love. Yes, that's what it was.

Gasping for air, she broke the kiss and stared up at the albino. Her eyes were still in a haze and her breathing had quickened ten paces.

"Ryou, what-what does this mean?"

"Tea, don't you understand yet? I'm in love with _you_. And it pains me to know that you chose Yami instead. Does he even like you that way?"

Before he could continue, the girl had taken off into a run. She was running away, away from him and away from his true feelings. Not just Ryou's, these were Bakura's feelings. And this was the first time in the tomb robber's life that his heart had started to tear up.

**-TBC-**

_Starian Princess_


	3. Chapter 3

**Dance with Me  
****By: Starian Princess**

Chapter 3

With her head buried beneath the pillows, Tea felt that she could escape from everything; from her problem with Yami and now, from her problem with Ryou. She couldn't deny the fact that she _did_ feel something the moment his lips had touched hers. But still, something hadn't been right.

'Why am I even thinking about this? Wasn't I crazy about Yami earlier?' She stared up at the ceiling as her thoughts raced back towards her ivory-haired friend. Thoughts of the kiss had been plaguing her mind from the moment she had run away from him, up until the moment she reached home.

'The dance is the day after tomorrow. I don't have time to be worrying about this now.' She breathed in trying to regain whatever strength she had left in her, as she leaned up from her lying position.

"Ryou," She stated then paused as his hazel eyes and kind smile came into view once more, "will just have to wait."

* * *

He simply couldn't understand what was going on now. The moment his yami had reached the front steps, he could feel that something was wrong. He sighed. He already had enough drama in his life due to what had transpired earlier. Now clearly, something was bothering his normally indifferent darker half.

"What's the matter with you?" Bakura looked up, meeting his hikari's piercing gaze.

"What _ever_ do you mean?" He sneered back. He did not want to talk about this right now.

Ryou sighed again. His yami was going to be difficult to talk to, but nothing had ever bothered him this much before. That led the lighter half to wondering what could have possibly made the former tomb robber so ticked off. Without having to think much though, the answer presented itself quite obvious.

"Tea…" He whispered, his eyes widening. _Now_, he was very curious.

"What did you say?" Bakura leaned back against the headrest so that he could get a better look at his companion.

"Did something happen between you and Tea?" The question, apparently, had caught him off guard.

'Perhaps, my little hikari isn't so dense after all…' He mused, as he watched his lighter half regard him with a rather wary look on his normally calm face. 'If he had a look like that all the time, I bet that he'd be just as intimidating as I am.'

* * *

"I heard that you asked Tea to the dance, Yami." Hard violet eyes met soft amethyst ones.

"It seemed to me that she was _waiting_ for me to ask her, partner." The former pharaoh's answer only proved to add even more confusion to the current thoughts running through his head.

"But did you really _want_ to ask her?" He pursued, feeling not the least bit satisfied.

"I suppose. She is a very charming person and a good friend to add to that. I'd be but honored to be the one to escort her to such an event." To this, he faced his lighter half who was examining him none to discreetly. "Is that the answer you were looking for?"

"Actually, Yami, no. Honestly, have you not noticed?" Yugi was regarding him now with a look of hurt mixed with bitter sadness.

"Noticed what? Aibou, you are talking in incomplete sentences." The ever knowing tone in his voice did not waver though.

And finally, the shorter boy could not take it any longer.

"Yami, listen! Tea likes you! She's liked you for so long now! And you seriously haven't noticed that!"

There was a pause as the former pharaoh stared into his longtime partner's watery eyes.

Then he sighed and answered solemnly, "Of course, I'd known about it. I just… I just didn't know how to react."

"You didn't know how to react? Yami, do you like her back or not?"

And to this once again, he answered grimly, "I like her. But not the way she likes me. I had always thought that maybe if I continued to ignore her insinuations, she would realize that _you_ liked her."

"Me?" For a moment, Yugi stared back at his darker half dumbly.

The spirit nodded and watched as the boy smiled dejectedly.

"It is true that I once liked her, very much in fact. But when I noticed that she liked you, I realized that I simply wasn't the right person for her. Her heart belonged somewhere else."

"You're right, aibou." To this, Yugi looked up at his yami once more. "Her heart does belong somewhere else, neither with you nor with me. And she herself may not have realized this yet."

* * *

"You kissed her?" Light hazel eyes stared back at him in disbelief, and now the tomb robber was beginning to regret that he had decided to tell his hikari the truth.

He sighed. "Yes, I did. She thought that I was you and had embraced me because she thought that she had made you upset. Just what did you do when you ran off a while ago to search for her? I thought that you were going to tell her that you and I had made the pharaoh ask her to the dance."

This time, Ryou sighed. "I wanted to tell her that. But when I saw her, she just looked so pleased with how everything turned out that all I could do was smile and be happy for her."

"But you weren't." Bakura grinned.

"I was happy for her, and _not_ for myself. And why doyou look so smug about all this? I thought that you wanted her as well."

He watched as his hikari frowned, but this only proved to amuse him further.

"I do want her, and I can _have_ her at any time I so desire. But little hikari, you don't seem to understand something. When I had kissed her, she kissed me back thinking that I was you."

By then, the pieces had begun to fall into place and the look on Ryou's face had changed from one of disappointment, to one of surprised happiness.

* * *

Pushing her finished homework to the side of her desk, Tea smiled. She had gotten so much work done in a matter of a few minutes and she was all too delighted with that fact alone.

'Now, I can pick out the perfect dress.' She grinned as she walked over to her closet and pulled it open. And after skimming through a number of outfits, she brought out three of which she decided to choose from.

Carefully looking down at her choices, she noticed a card sticking out of the one in the middle. Curiously, she bent down to retrieve it, and after reading its content she gasped.

She remembered this dress now. It was the one Ryou had given her after she had gone to a dinner with him. He had said that it was a present especially for her.

She couldn't help but gaze affectionately at the gown, remembering the smile he had flashed at her that very night. But just when her thoughts had begun to drift further towards everything else about him, she mentally snapped herself out of it.

It wasn't right. It just wasn't right for her to be thinking that way, she frowned. 'Why am I being so fickle about this? I had wanted Yami to ask me, and he did. And now… And now, I just can't get Ryou out of my head!'

She placed a hand on her temple and massaged it, as she breathed in deeply. "I… I need to go for walk." She muttered as she stood up, grabbing her coat and running out the door.

* * *

"Do you really think that she likes me?" The tomb robber frowned, watching his uneasy half from the corner of his eye.

"Well, little hikari, it is either that or she just has a physical attraction to you. But knowing Tea, it would probably be the former."

Ryou seemed to contemplate this before he nodded and settled once more into his composed state. It had been Bakura's idea to take a walk since he had been fidgeting far too much for his liking. And in truth, the spirit also needed time to sort out **his **feelings for the girl. It had begun to drizzle and so they had decided to go back home.

Rounding a corner, the two stopped immediately as the sight that greeted them was not the one they had expected.

The object of their thoughts, apparently, was seated on the curb, staring into space and not caring as droplets of rain fell onto her back, shoulders and even her face.

Bakura was the first to regain his composure as he looked to his hikari to gauge his reaction. But unfortunately, the lighter half just stood there frozen just as the girl was.

With a huff of irritation, the tomb robber then decided that he had to take matters into his own hands, again.

**-TBC-**


End file.
